Bill Bordley Took Circuitous Route To Secret Service Detail

Bill Bordley took a trip back in time in late January.

A sophomore at Southern California, Bordley declared for the 1979 January draft, which has since been eliminated, and was drafted third overall by the Reds, who the night before told Bordley they would not take him because of the bonus he wanted to sign instead of returning to USC.

That led to an investigation by Major League Baseball, eventually resulting in commissioner Bowie Kuhn finding the Angels guilty of tampering. The Reds were awarded the Angels’ second-round pick in the regular phase of the June 1979 draft (the Angels lost their top pick for signing free-agent pitcher Jim Barr), and the Angels’ first and second selections in the now-defunct secondary phase of the draft, which was for players previously drafted who went unsigned.

“I was the big fish in that draft,” Bordley said. “Dallas Green was the general manager of the Phillies and was going to draft me with the No. 1 pick. But they knew I had some reservations with some things going on at home with my dad and brother and felt a need to stay close to home.”

Bordley’s father had a heart attack and was scheduled for a quadruple bypass. His brother, who had played a year in the minor leagues, was paralyzed in a May 1978 auto accident. The Phillies, Blue Jays and Reds had the first three selections in the secondary phase of that draft, leaving the Angels, selecting fourth, as the first West Coast team with a pick.

Kuhn, however, took exception with a winter meeting between Bordley and Angels general manager Buzzie Bavasi following Bordley’s workout for scouts. Southern Cal, after winning the College World Series, had gone on a tour of Japan, and questions were raised over Bordley’s drop in velocity.

“The scouts wanted to see me work out so I pitched in a winter league game at Cerritos (Junior College),” he said. “There were around 60 scouts there. Afterward an Angels scout pulled me aside and said Buzzie wanted to talk to me so I went (to Anaheim Stadium) and talked to him.

“He didn’t promise anything, but reassured their interest in me. That’s when I said I was going to hold out and wait for a West Coast team to draft me.”

Bordley eventually was awarded to the Giants, one of five teams that agreed to a minimum signing bonus of $150,000 that Bordley chose to be involved in a drawing for his signing rights. The others were the Dodgers, Mariners, Royals and Brewers, which had selected Bordley with the fourth pick overall when he came out of high school in June of 1976.

“The Giants got pulled out of the hat,” Bordley said.

Bordley said he began to reminisce about the event after reading of the Cardinals being ordered to pay a $2 million fine to the Astros, and also lost their first two selections in the June draft to the Astros as the result of an illegal hack into the Astros’ baseball database.

The penalty of the two picks in the amateur draft is considered the most severe action in regards to the draft ever handed down by a commissioner in light of the fact the now-defunct secondary phase did not normally feature high-profile prospects.

Bordley was in Houston as part of the Super Bowl, which provided him a first-hand exposure when the decision was announced.

The concern scouts had about Bordley’s velocity during that Japanese tour proved real.His professional career lasted less than five seasons, although in his second year, 1980, he did appear in eight games, making six starts for the Giants. He had Tommy John surgery the following season.

“I was the fourth player to have the surgery,” Bordley said, following Tommy John, Brett Strom and Joe Hesketh.

And he finally retired after a brief effort to revive his career by pitching for Monclova in the Mexican Summer League in 1983.

“Joe Torre invited me to spring training with the Braves that year and I couldn’t make it,” he said. “Ray Poitevint was a scout with the Brewers and told me to go to Mexico and see if I could do anything. I couldn’t. I had to have a meeting with myself and move on with life.”

Thirty-four years later, Bordley has no regrets. His life has certainly taken a different path. After his playing career ended he finished earning his degree at USC, became a Secret Service agent, and supervised the Secret Service detail for Chelsea Clinton at Stanford.

He served as the head of security for Major League Baseball, and is currently the sports council for the Knight of Columbus. In that role he is in Houston for events that included Tuesday’s visit to a primarily Hispanic elementary school with former NFL lineman Anthony Munoz.

“To be honest the game gave me everything and it continues to do that,” he said. “Sure, I would have loved to have been a 20-game winning and played in a World Series. But in the overall picture, I’m forever in its debt.

“The game gave me an education at USC. It gave me financial independence since my early 20s. There is not much outside of on the field success the game could have given me. I have been very fortunate.”

Even the opportunity with the Secret Service was born out of baseball.

“I was recovering from the surgery in 1981 and with the Giants for a series against the Mets at Shea Stadium,” Bordley said. “President George H. W. Bush was the vice president at the time and came into our locker room with the Secret Service detail.

“I started talking to (the agents) and I think I left them tickets for the game. When I went back and got my degree in finance I put in for the Secret Service and after a two and a half year background check I got on.”

The ride hasn’t always been smooth, but Bordley is the first to admit it has been rewarding.